Debt: Associate Degree Recipients

Among students who completed an associate degree in 2019–20, 35.8 percent borrowed an average of $17,252 during their undergraduate years, with a median debt among borrowers of $14,166 at graduation. The share of associate degree recipients who borrowed money to finance their education decreased 12.2 percentage points between 2015–16 and 2019–20, from 48.0 percent to 35.8 percent. [1]

Borrowing Rates Among Associate Degree Recipients, by Race and Ethnicity: 2019-20
Average Debt per Borrower: Associate Degree Recipients, by Race and Ethnicity: 2019-20

Report Links

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report
Chapter Six: How Students Finance Undergraduate Education

Chapter Six Report Download (PDF) 954 KB
Chapter Six Data Tables Download (XLSX) 144 KB

Source

U.S. Department of Education, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2020

Data Notes

[1] Data from 2015–16 is from Espinosa et al. 2019.

! Interpret with caution. Ratio of standard error to estimate is greater than 30 percent but less than 50 percent.

‡ Reporting standards not met